What Controls You? – 2 Peter 2:19-20

Posted on by

whatcontrolsyou“For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first” (2 Peter 2:19-20, ESV).

Peter speaks here of false teachers who “bring in destructive heresies” (II Peter 2:1) and the people they lead astray with these detrimental teachings. If you succumb to these false teachings or their teacher, then you are a slave to whatever is controlling you.

Continue reading →

Between the Dead and the Living – Numbers 16:47-48

Posted on by

censerofAaron“But Aaron burned the incense and purified the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.” (Numbers 16:47-48, NLT)

Numbers 16 is the record of yet another rebellion by the Israelites against Moses’ leadership and God’s authority.

This rebellion seemed to be a power struggle that was a more egregious challenge to God’s authority than any of the previous rebellions. This rebellion was led by certain Levites who had some of the most important duties related to the upkeep of the Tabernacle.

Continue reading →

Missing the Blessing – Numbers 14:31

Posted on by

Warning-Challenges“Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised” (Numbers 14:31, NLT).

Moses sent twelve men on a reconnaissance mission to the land of Canaan. When they returned, ten of the twelve reported to Moses and the people of Israel that even though the land was rich and fertile, it was inhabited by potentially formidable foes.

The testimony of the faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb, which was to conquer the land immediately, was rejected and rebellion against Moses’ leadership and threats of violence against Joshua and Caleb spread through the entire Israelite community.

Continue reading →

Barely Saved – 1 Peter 4:14-19

Posted on by

BareHanginOn“If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a ‘Christian,’ he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? So those who suffer according to God’s will should, while doing what is good, entrust themselves to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:14-19, HCSB).

Let me begin this post with a disclaimer: You might find something I say in this post offensive to you as a Christian. Please don’t get mad at me because I want you to like me and keep reading my daily devotionals.

Instead, get mad at the Apostle Peter, because he’s the one that originally said it! I’m only explaining what Peter said in the context of our post-modern lives.

Continue reading →

Leadership From the Bottom Up – Numbers 12:3

Posted on by

humility2“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3, ESV).

Being the humblest person on earth is not a character trait we usually associate with Moses. Moses was a great leader of the Israelites, so we assume he had to be assertive, a Type A personality.

After all, to be an effective leader you can’t be humble and expect people to follow.

Continue reading →

Wisdom’s Call – Proverbs 8

Posted on by

thinkingmanProverbs 8 extols the value of acquiring wisdom. It does so by personifying, even deifying, wisdom.

In a previous meditation I said that acquiring wisdom is important because wisdom is the creative energy of God.

Proverbs 8 enlarges on that supposition: “The Lord made me at the beginning of His creation, before His works of long ago. I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began… when He laid out the foundations of the earth. I was a skilled craftsman beside Him. I was His delight every day,always rejoicing before Him. I was rejoicing in His inhabited world, delighting in the human race” (vs. 22-23,29-31).

With wisdom God established the universe and through wisdom God declared the knowledge of Himself to people.

Continue reading →

The Present and Future Disciple, Part 3 – The Productivity Proposition

Posted on by

inextricable In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a number of “second-coming” parables, one of which is the well-known and oft-quoted Parable of the Talents.

In this parable a man makes an extended trip to a far country so he entrusts his servants with some of his financial resources to invest while he is away. He gives one servant five talents (talent was a unit of weight, about 75 pounds, to measure coinage and now is used to indicate an ability), one two talents, and the other one talent.

Continue reading →

The Present and Future Disciple, Part 2 – The Eternity Factor

Posted on by

inextricableIf you knew the teaching of Jesus that is repeated the most times in the Gospels, wouldn’t you want to do it? As His disciple, wouldn’t you want to apply it to your life?

Well, here it is: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it”  (Matthew 16:24-25, NASB).

Yes, it’s a familiar verse. You’ve probably heard many sermons and Sunday School lessons preached and taught on these verses.

Continue reading →

The Present and Future Disciple, Part 1 – Inextricably Linked

Posted on by

inextricableWhen Jesus said, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” and “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:20, 33, NASB), He identified the connection between what you are and do in this present life to what you will be and will do in eternal life.

In other words, your life in this present age is inextricably linked to your future life, your eternal life.

By “inextricably” I mean that the connection between your present and future is so intricately entangled as to make it impossible to escape from it.

Continue reading →